Thursday, January 26, 2017

President Trump's Bully Mentality

Popular Economics Weekly

President Trump’s first days in office were alarming for several reasons. He
immediately began attacking the press, while intentionally stating falsehoods
such as he would have won the popular vote, but for “3 to 5 million” fraudulent
votes. Or, maybe they weren’t intentional falsehoods? Since most of those
falsehoods are easily debunked, such as the size of the crowds at Friday’s
Inauguration and Saturday women’s march.

Then you have the CIA meeting, where he stated that it was the lying media
that made up his dispute with the intelligence community, whereas it is easy to
check Trump’s speeches and Twitter messages for all to see he was the one that
criticized the intelligence community for their findings that Vladimir Putin’s
intelligence services wanted him elected.

So could it be that he is delusional, the words of Mother Jones’ David Corn?
Or is it possible that he only listens to news from the likes of Breitbart, The
National Inquirer, Fox, and Russ Limbaugh that cater to his voters, not the mass
media that reports to the rest of US?

No, it is far more likely that he believes his success in business, such as
it is, was due to his bullying tactics, tactics that browbeat investors and
lenders to such an extent that he can no longer rely on U.S. investors and banks
to finance his projects. So he doesn’t care—and may even have contempt for—facts
or truths or any kind that don’t further his agenda.

A New York Times reporter on Lawrence O-Donnell’s MSNBC Last Word said it
reminded her of the behavior of dictators, such as the current Russian and
Chinese autocrats who considered all news as grist for their propaganda mills.

I have written about the bully
mentality several times that has led to increased bullying in school, and
even gun violence. It is a mentality that attempts to impose a bully’s version
of reality on the real world for the sole purpose of domination. President Trump
has always acted the bully, which is the reason for his history of lawsuits and
bankruptcies, so that facts are only useful in so much as they support his
positions.

Also comments such as “mentally sick”,“dummy”,
“looser” or “looked disgusting” are all examples of bullying language
on Trump’s Twitter. Trump’s bullying
tactics include calling President Obama the founder of a terrorist
organisation and insinuating that Clinton took drugs prior to a debate.
Furthermore, he has mocked
the disability of reporter Serge Kovaleski, portrayed
immigrants and foreigners as dangerous people, rapists or “criminal
aliens”, and demonstrated a significant lack of respect for women generally.

How does one oppose such destructive behavior? First, remember that bullies
have to prey on the weakest, and avoid confrontation with those stronger because
of their own insecurities. Trump preyed on naïve students and the elderly in his
Trump University scam. And he stiffed workers and employees when building his
Trump Casinos either by paying them less than was contractually agreed to, or
not at all.

Combine it with his case-study narcissism that requires he be constantly in
the limelight. So standing up to such a bully means the news media should ignore
his tantrums, rather than commenting on them. Remember that he makes such
outrageous lies to gain even more attention.

Psychology Today has posted a list of bullying behavior, a list that fits
President Trump like a glove:
– Uncontrolled anger and unpredictable irritability, frequently directed at
the weakest people (‘safe targets’) or those perceived as a future threat
– A sociopathic ability to control their own image – the selective ability to
look like a different person to different audiences – for example, being
aggressive to ‘subordinates’, while being charming and helpful to others
– Having little status outside of work, bullies wield the power that their
job gives them with vicious zeal
– Running ‘witch-hunts’
– Gratuitous domineering behaviour – sometimes physical
– The ability to make the unreasonable seem reasonable, even to the victims
--Projecting their own inadequacies onto others
– Making irrational accusations
– Publicly putting people down
– Sadistic enjoyment in humiliating others

The list is endless of President Trump’s bullying tactics, and the responses
are well known. There is even a government website, https://www.stopbullying.gov/ to help
understand what the bully mentality is all about.

How sad it is that this US
President, the most powerful person on earth, is setting such an example of his
own weakness and insecurity.

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Harlan Russell Green, Editor/Publisher

Harlan Green is a Mortgage Broker in Santa Barbara, California since the 1980s and economist. As Editor/Publisher of PopularEconomics.com, he has published 3 weekly columns-- Popular Economics Weekly, Financial FAQs, and The Mortgage Corner-since 2000, and is a featured business columnist for Huffington Post. Please refer to the populareconomics.com website for further information.